Bat-embargo
Bat-Embargo was the term used for the decision to limit or ban the use of Batman related characters from any media source outside of the new Batman Begins movie franchise and The Batman animated series. This decision meant that only obscure Bat-villains such as the Clock King, the KGBeast, Amygdala, the Sportsmaster, Blockbuster or Copperhead would appear in the DCAU. Purpose It is unclear who enacted the embargo, but it is commonly believed to be either DC Comics or Warner Bros. The reason Warner Bros. supplied is that with the coming of The Batman, children (their target demograph) would be confused to see two versions of the same character at the same time. This reasoning does not explain everything associated with the embargo. A number of Batman characters reserved never saw use in The Batman (i.e., Two-Face, Ra's al Ghul, the Scarecrow, and the Mad Hatter), most likely because they were to be used in the Christopher Nolan movies (except the Mad Hatter). It also does not explain why other heroes were also banned. This presents (but by no means confirms) the possibility that there were other reasons involved in the ban. Words from the Creative Team Implications of the Bat-Embargo *Characters exclusively reserved for other TV shows and movies in development or production include most characters from the Batman comics due to the "Bat-Embargo" that reserved those characters for the new Batman cartoon The Batman and the new Batman movies. Only Batman could appear, although Nightwing made an uncredited cameo as a silhouette atop a building in Blüdhaven in the episode "Grudge Match". *Originally, Barbara Gordon was to appear in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Double Date". The episode would have her getting injured during a case as Batgirl. Since Bruce forbids her from participating she would recreate herself as Oracle, and get in touch with Black Canary and Huntress to finish her case. Neither of them would meet her in person. Due to the Bat Embargo, the story was changed to include Green Arrow and The Question instead.http://jl.toonzone.net/episode43/episode43.htm * The introduction of the Legion of Doom in season three of Justice League Unlimited conspicuously lacks the major Batman villains, the Scarecrow and the Riddler, both of whom were part of the original Legion of Doom. * The "Bat-Embargo" started around the middle of the second season of Justice League Unlimited, seeing as Hugo Strange was featured in "Doomsday Sanction" but was unavailable onwards. Dwayne wanted to use the character later in the second season, presumably for the interrogation scene in "Question Authority", but couldn't do it due to the embargo. His role was later taken by Doctor Moon, a brain surgeon who is the go-to villain of the DC universe when 'evil' brain-washing is required. * No more Joker appearances, which was unusual, since he has appeared prominently in earlier seasons. * The Penguin or other Gotham City influential mobsters like Black Mask, Two-Face, Rupert Thorne or Scarface did not appear in further episodes. According to Bruce Timm, after his redesign of the character for , the Penguin started to have a very influential role as a kingpin for Gotham City underworld, working behind the scenes a la Lex Luthor. His power and position was especially shown when he was last seen, on the Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman movie. * During the "Batman Adventures" (2003-2004) story arc, the last comic book based on Batman: the Animated Series, all the rogues evolved. The Penguin became mayor, Black Mask and Red Hood made their first appearances, and Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Talia, and the Riddler had also major changes in their lives. Although the comics based on the DCAU stories are not canonical to it, the producers have often adapted some of the plots to the actual DCAU in the past. Especially when Timm was involved in the comic's production, like in this case. * The long-anticipated reappearance of Ra's al Ghul and his related League of Assassins, which is already part of the DC Animated Universe continuity, wasn't possible. * Characters created for the DCAU, like Harley Quinn, and then incorporated into the DC Comics mainstream were included in the embargo. Reaction Many fans were unhappy with this policy and expressed their discontent through petitions http://www.petitiononline.com/gr4588/petition.html http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/batembargosucks intended to reverse it, or at least to convince Warner Bros. to allow the inclusion of Batman's archenemies the Scarecrow and the Riddler in the Legion of Doom. However, it sorted no effect, because the show was ended before this ban could be lifted. End of the Embargo Many web articles that refer to the Bat-Embargo were last updated in the year 2005, meaning very little current news is available. The use of formerly banned characters in Batman: The Brave and the Bold suggests that the ban has been lifted or altered. However, with the closure of Justice League Unlimited and no other current media that would make effective use of these characters, details have not been widely circulated. Other Embargos *The Aquaman embargo: :DC Comics has asked the staff not to use Aquaman or any of his family or characters, this is due to the recent appearance of the character on Smallville, a storyline featuring the character on the television series Entourage, and the announcement of a Smallville-esque Aquaman series. ::According to Television Without Pity, producers changed Black Manta to Devil Ray and removed Aquaman from "To Another Shore" because the rights to Aquaman were no longer available. *The Wonder Woman embargo: :Bruce Timm admitted in an interview shown on the that he initially ran into some legal issues once he told Warner Bros. that he wanted to use Wonder Woman for the series. He was eventually successful in being able to use the character for the show, but later other animated series ran into similar road-blocks preventing the use of both the Wonder Woman character as well as established Wonder Woman supporting characters. Examples include Smallville producers not being able to use the true character so were religated to having Lois Lane dress in a variation of the Wonder Woman costume while at a comic book convention, the Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series only being able to show a brief back view of Wonder Woman in an episode highlighting various sidekicks, the Teen Titans animated series not being able to use either Donna Troy or Cassandra Sandsmark, as well as the Young Justice animated series not being able to use any version of the Wonder Girl characters. *The other heroes: :The same happens with some of the rest famous superheroes not seen on the show. There was a list of superheroes with "rights-available". References *World's Finest *The Watchtower *dwaynemcduffie.com Category:Definitions